Skullforge: The Hunt

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It’s amazing to think that so much time has passed and how much the game has progressed. Oh, there’s still plenty of work to be done, but every now and again I like to step back and reflect on how things have changed. The other day, Heather and I sat down and looked at the original screenshots we used for the Kickstarter and how it’s hard to believe it’s really the same game. Regardless of how the game turns out, I’m still proud of the work we’ve done. Ultimately, that’s all that matters anyway. Though, being successful and making enough money to bring to life our next project is good, too.

Next week, we should be able to do a video blog showing off one of the tasks in the game and perhaps some combat. We still haven’t finalized the A.I., so it’s a little screwed up at the moment. I mainly want to show how the game looks in action and how the player will interact with the world and the things in it. I’m a little nervous and excited at the same time. I hope you guys like what we’ve come up with.

We’re making a lot of progress these days and it’s really cool to see the game change as time goes on. Right now, we’re working hard on the demo that we plan to release next month and the foundation for the 4 different zones has been crafted. The dungeon is still in the early development state, but it’s coming along nicely. I figured I’d post a couple of screens of the new area. It’s not really populated yet and there are whole sections that haven’t even been made yet. I figure we’ll be done with the frame of it this weekend. We’ll post some more screens once we get it populated with props and the like. I’m sure Heather is looking forward to that.

I haven’t posted new screenshots in a little while, so I decided to post a couple today. We have been working hard trying to get everything working and we are almost done with the key systems. I finished the quest UI and system yesterday and now I’m working on little things like exiting to the title screen and just simply exiting the game. The UI is far from finished, though. I believe I’ve spent the most time trying to get it functioning properly and in a user friendly way. There will be a lot of iteration as we get closer to release, but the basic system should be working in any case.

One thing I do have planned in the nearish future is posting a little video showing how a quest will work in the game. Not sure exactly when that will happen, but hopefully soon. We’re getting close to where we’ll be simply working on content and that has be excited. Enjoy the screens.

We started Skullforge: The Hunt late 2013 and at that time our main goal was just to see if we could even get the game rolling. I was new to Unity and had gotten back into programming after many years. We’ve been working on Skullforge for a little over a year and though we still have a lot of work to do, we’ve made some great progress.

Moving into the future, our goal is to ramp things up to prepare for upcoming trade shows. We hope to have the game at the show in some capacity and so our current focus is to make that happen. On a more technical note, we are working on getting more of the main systems in place now that we’ve finalized a lot of the basic design. The testing and prototyping took a little more time that I expected, but it should turn out for the better at the end of the day.

Finally, we will be working on getting the model for Desi finished. She’s gone through some iteration and probably will go through another one before all is said and done. Below is a new design for her that I think looks great. Once we have her basic look done we’ll start to work on the model. Hopefully we’ll be able to unveil the new model at E3.

There are more things going on and I hope to share more details in the nearish future. With that said, let me leave you with a GIF of the new water we’ve added to the game. It’s an unfinished zone, but I really liked how it turned out, so I’m sharing it with you now. Take care.

One thing I’ve been working on recently has been talent tree and abilities/spells for each spec. Deciding what skills should be available to the player and how they work is both fun and frustrating. My experience playing other games sometimes clouds my judgement and that makes it hard to be creative sometimes. It’s a natural thing, I suppose, but knowing when a spell or ability won’t work in the context of Skullforge is something I’ve had to struggle with a little bit.

In Skullforge: The Hunt, the player will be able to choose between three trees:

There have been a lot of changes happening in the last few months and I hope that it all works out for the best in the end. So even though I haven’t posted much on the blog in the past couple of months, things are still rolling along. I’ve made a few milestones and that’s made me a bit happy. Still more to do, but it’s the small victories that really drive us, right?

So today I provide you with a new screenshot of Skullforge: The Hunt. This is of Kellum’s Inn, but a different part of it. This inn is relatively large all things considered. We put a lot of effort into the details, even though most players wouldn’t even notice half of them. It’s okay as it’s all about the “feel”. Still, I think the overall look is nice and that look should be shown throughout the game.

The year is almost over and what a year it’s been. This week’s screen is showing off the new UI…or at least one aspect of it. I’ve always felt that the old UI wasn’t very interesting and had been trying to find a way to replace it with something cool. Looks like we were able to finally get it done. Here’s the first look at the changes. I made a point in snapping a picture out in the world of the game instead of in a building. We hope that you can appreciate the changes we’ve made. There’s still more work to be done, though it’s nice to celebrate these little victories.

This week’s shot is just a little shot which shows off the early stage of the Mercenaries Guild. The structure has been completed and now we just need to populate the place with furniture and such. This place is pretty huge, so it may take a while to get it up to snuff. I’ll post another screenshot of the area once it’s all done.

There are many places to visit in Skullforge: The Hunt. One of them is the Mercenaries Guild. At the Mercenaries Guild, you can get information on bounties that are commissioned by the local watch or foreign governments. As you travel around the island, you’ll stumble upon these unsavory men, women, or beasts and bring them to justice…dead or alive. It’s a great way to earn some cash and notoriety.

I’m going to try to post a new screen every week or something close to that. More areas are being fleshed out so I feel more confident showing off the game and some of the new areas you can mess around in. This week we’re showing off Blackquill’s tavern. This place is a moderate level tavern that doesn’t get very rowdy.